4D pharma to Restate Unaudited Interim Financial Statements for the Six-Month Period Ended June 30, 2021 to Correct Accounting for Warrants
Non-cash adjustment with no effect on cash position or operating results of 4D Pharma’s business
Audited financial statements for Fiscal Year 2020 are not affected
Leeds, UK, February 18, 2022 – 4D pharma plc (AIM: DDDD, NASDAQ: LBPS), a pharmaceutical company leading the development of Live Biotherapeutic products (LBPs), a novel class of drug derived from the microbiome, today announced that the Company has determined that the warrants and units assumed by the Company in connection with its March 2021 merger with Longevity Acquisition Corporation should not be recorded as equity instruments, and in accordance with IFRS and US GAAP, should be recorded as derivative liabilities. While the issues identified are non-cash, and do not impact the cash and cash equivalents, the Company has restated the unaudited interim consolidated financial statements for the six months period ending June 30, 2021.
The issues disclosed in this release are an accounting technicality and were identified by the Company during the ongoing preparation of its audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021. The restatements do not impact the Company’s cash and cash equivalents, revenues, operating expenses, operating loss, assets, or liquidity for the affected period.
This restatement will apply to the Company’s International Financial Reporting Standards “IFRS” and US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles “GAAP” financial statements for the six months period ending June 30, 2021.The Company’s audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2020 are not affected.
IFRS Statements
As previously reported under IFRS, the Company had concluded that the warrants and units were determined to be equity instruments and accounted for under IFRS 2. During the re-assessment and in line with the IFRIC discussion paper dated February 1, 2022 (‘Special purpose acquisition companies (SPAC); accounting for warrants at acquisition’), the Company has reviewed its warrant accounting policies and determined that the rules outlined in IAS 32 may provide a more appropriate treatment than that of IFRS 2. IAS 32 states that equity linked financial instruments must meet a “fixed for fixed” criteria to be accounted for as equity based. As a result of the variation in the strike price currency (USD$) and the Company’s functional currency (GBP£) together with the cashless exercise features, the warrants and units are to be determined as liabilities. Therefore, the Company has decided to reassess its accounting policy, changing the reporting of the warrants and units to liabilities in its restated financials. The restated IFRS financial statements are set out below. The effect on IFRS reporting are as follows:
· Income Statement: Restated comprehensive loss of (£49.2) million compared to (£56.1) million as previously reported. This is a reduction in comprehensive loss of £6.9 million due to the change in fair value of the warrants as of June 30, 2021
· Balance Sheet: Reduction in equity and net assets of £11.5 million, offset by an increase in liabilities of £11.5 million
GAAP Statements
As previously reported under GAAP, the Company had concluded that the warrants and units were indexed to its own stock and were equity based. According to Accounting Standards Codification “ASC” 815-40-15-71, equity linked financial instruments issued with a strike price denominated in a currency (USD$) different than the Company’s functional currency (GBP£) incurs an exposure to changes in currency exchange rates and thus cannot be indexed to the Company’s stock. Therefore, the Company has corrected this issue and will report the warrants and units as derivative liabilities in the Form 6-K to be furnished with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The effect on GAAP reporting are as follows:
· Income Statement: Restated comprehensive loss of ($24.2) million compared to ($18.5) million as previously reported. This is an increase in comprehensive loss of $5.8 million, due to $11.0 million loss on issuance of securities, partially offset by $5.2 million in the change in fair value of the warrants as of June 30, 2021
· Balance Sheet: Reduction of $5.8 million in stockholder’s equity, offset by an increase in liabilities of $5.8 million
About 4D pharma
4D pharma is a world leader in the development of Live Biotherapeutics, a novel and emerging class of drugs, defined by the FDA as biological products that contain a live organism, such as a bacterium, that is applicable to the prevention, treatment or cure of a disease.  4D pharma has developed a proprietary platform, MicroRx®, that rationally identifies Live Biotherapeutics based on a deep understanding of function and mechanism.
4D pharma’s Live Biotherapeutic products (LBPs) are orally delivered single strains of bacteria that are naturally found in the healthy human gut. The Company has five clinical programs, namely a Phase I/II study of MRx0518 in combination with KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) in solid tumors, a Phase I study of MRx0518 in a neoadjuvant setting for patients with solid tumors, a Phase I study of MRx0518 in patients with pancreatic cancer, a Phase I/II study of MRx-4DP0004 in asthma, and Blautix® in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) which has completed a successful Phase II trial. Preclinical-stage programs include candidates for CNS disease such as Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. The Company has a research collaboration with MSD, a tradename of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA, to discover and develop Live Biotherapeutics for vaccines.
For more information, refer to https://www.4dpharmaplc.com.
Contact Information:
Duncan Peyton, Chief Executive Officer +44 (0)113 895 0130
Investor Relations [email protected]
